Preparation

1) In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the sugar, eggs, shortening and vanilla and mix until well combined, about 2 minutes, add the sour cream, along with all the dry ingredients and mix until a dough comes together.

3) Allow the dough to rest for a few minutes, meanwhile, fill a heavy duty pot halfway with some vegetable oil and preheat it. You want the temperature of the oil to be around 370 degrees F.

2) Scrape the dough onto a well floured surface then roll it out to 1/2” thick and using a couple of biscuit cutters (a small one for the donut holes and a bigger one for the actual donuts), cut out the donuts. Then using a sharp little knife, make 2 slits on both sides of the donuts (watch the video for better instructions).

4) Fry the donuts and donut holes in the hot oil for a few minutes on each side or until deeply golden brown and cooked all the way through, allow them to cool a bit on a paper towel lined baking sheet and set them aside)

5) To make the glaze, in a large bowl mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla and enough water to make the glaze runny but not too thin. Dip the donuts in the glaze and then let them set on a wire rack (over top of a baking sheet to catch all the drippings) and then dig in!